Saturday, August 20, 2016

Major Characteristics Of Living Things

Living and Non-livingLiving things and non- living things exit in the world they are distinguished by a number of characteristics.Living things exhibit this characteristics: they include, movement, nutrition, respiration, excretion, reproduction, irritability. Movement: Movement means a change in position.this is the process by which living things move from one place to another in search of food, clothing and shelter. Likewise plant which carry out bending movement under certain conditions.Nutrition:This is the intake of minerals substances, as well as the use of food by animals and also their use by plants.for instance the air we breathe in is as a result of the oxygen release by plant which is been use by animals for survival.Respiration: This is the breakdown of food substances taken by the organism to release energy.we have two types of respiration they are:Aerobic and AnaerobicAerobic respiration:this is the process whereby oxygen is needed to release energy;and Anaerobic respiration: is the process by which energy is release without the use of Oxygen.Many organisms have special body parts for talking in oxygen for respiration. For instance, human beings uses their lungs; fishes make use of their gills, while plants use openings in their leaves(stomata) or stems (lenticels).Growth: This is the permanent increase in size.Increase in mass, height or length of an organism comes with good feeding of each individual. To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.We must choose to eat food that are low in saturated fats, cholesterol and consume food that consist of fruits,vegetables, whole grains, and fat- free or low milk products.At birth human babies weigh an average of 3.5kgExcretion: This is the removal of waste product of metabolism. Metabolism is the sum total of all the chemical process which takes place within the cells of the body, for the continuous activities of building the cells of the body from the continuous activities of the building up and using up energy waste accumulates. Such waste is not useful to the body ,it may be needed to be removed.Reproduction: This is the process by which an organism give rise to new individuals(offspring) of the same kind. The adults housefly Will lay eggs which on hatching, develop into a maize seedling, which grows into a maize plant. A sheep gives to lamb, which grows into a sheep. Reproduction is the only means by which a living things is kept in existence from one generation to another.Irritability: This is the ability of a living things to receive an external stimulus and respond to it. For instance if you touched a hot plate by mistake, you would quickly withdraw your hand. Your skin receives this sensation of heat, which goes to the brain. The brain orders the muscles to contract in an action which translates as the withdrawal of your hand from the heat or other harmful stimulus.